Posted by King Vultan on November 2, 2004, at 18:46:49
In reply to I need a new pdoc and I need some SLEEP!, posted by erik98225 on November 2, 2004, at 15:32:50
I agree you should probably find someone else. Benzos have a legitimate use in psychiatry and are far less problematic than the barbituates that they have made essentially obsolete. I happened to see my own pdoc today regarding my sleep issues. I have been alternating 0.25 mg Halcion/triazolam with 50 mg Benadryl. I can tolerate the Benadryl, but it is not strong enough. He prescribed another antihistamine, hydroxyzine, which I don't believe is particularly anticholinergic. I don't believe it is remarkably powerful as a sleep aid, either, but perhaps it will work better for me than the Benadryl.
If it's affordable, I would suggest giving Ambien a try. I discussed this with my pdoc, who feels it can be used every night. Tolerance seems to be less of an issue with this drug, as it is not a true benzo and has a very short half life. The same would also be true of Sonata, but the half life of this drug is so short that people have more of a tendency to wake up early and perhaps not be able to get back to sleep. This can also happen with Ambien, but somewhat less so than with Sonata. I might give Ambien a try myself, but it is very expensive on my insurance ($50/month copay), and I question if it is strong enough for my insomnia, which is particularly bad because of the Parnate I'm on.
Todd
poster:King Vultan
thread:410701
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041029/msgs/410796.html